Topless Femen activists held in Vatican

Rome: Four activists of Ukrainian feminist group Femen were held for staging a topless protest for gay rights at the Vatican Sunday.

They protested when Pope Benedict XVI was reciting his prayer.

The activists with slogans "In Gay We Trust" painted on their backs, staged the protest by the Christmas tree in the centre of St. Peter`s Square, media reports said.

The women were briefly detained by Vatican police.

Ukraine`s radical feminist movement Femen was established in 2008. It is devoted mainly to protests on women`s issues. The group has earlier made headlines for pro-democracy and anti-corruption protests in Russia, Ukraine and London.